This is a profile recent and possibly future leadership candidate for a political party. A major purpose of openpolitics.ca itself is to very closely examine the ethics and positions of any such person. Please ensure this page contains details, including unpleasant details, of this person's life or actions.

Sheila Richardson of Truro, Nova Scotia, is a controversial figure in the Green Party of Canada and Green Party of Nova Scotia. Some members of both parties familiar with her activities have claimed to have noted serious breaches of ethics and discipline that would eject her from any other party, and a substantial part of this criticism is available, e.g. on the gpc-members yahoogroup.

politcial activities

as candidate

She stood as a GPC candidate in the:

• Canadian federal election, 2004
• Canadian federal election, 2006

as officer

As an administrator and policy contributor, Richardson has rarely achieved anything but condemnation from colleagues, who generally consider her incompetent.

GPC

governance

As GPC-NS representative? to the GPC Council during the ERCT and GPC Council Crisis incidents:

• She was partly responsible for the GPC Council Crisis - voting with the ERCT on literally every vote until it was disbanded
• She spoke very strongly for the creation of "GPC unperson" status, which backfired badly on the party during the GPC whistleblower crisis, 2006 and the Canadian federal election, 2006
• Some GPC resignation letters name Richardson in particular as a person incapable of working in a democratic organization

Former GPNS Leader Michael Oddy spoken often to Richardson, asking her to resign for failing to ever consult anyone in Nova Scotia before making any decision. Craig Hubley similarly called on her to resign many times.

policy

Richardson's attempts to act in a GPC Shadow Cabinet capacity have generally been rejected. As the trade critic, she advanced the position that Canada should appeal the softwood lumber dispute? to the WTO, a move wholly against standing GPC policy. Shadow Cabinet head Sharon Labchuk? has often sought to replace her, but has been foiled by Jim Harris who seeks to retain an incompetent ally who votes as he says.

GPNS

confused identity

While Richardson represented the GPC-NS it very commonly represented itself as actually being the Green Party of Nova Scotia. For example an entry at nsonline.com and most mentions of the GPNS in a google search as of 2006-03 returned contact information for Richardson and the GPC-NS.

The correct name of the entity has always been "the Green Party of Canada in Nova Scotia" and this has been very clear in all other provinces. None of the provincial Green Parties is formally affilated with the GPC, and the GPC consistently rejects such affiliations.

opposed constitution

Other than failing to protect its identity, Richardson has done little damage to the GPNS, largely because it rejected her at its GPNS AGM 2006, when she sought to become the first elected GPNS Leader.

Despite a GPNS constitution that clearly put power over policy in the hands of a GPNS position protocol administered by a GPNS Policy Committee, she stated several clear policy commitments in her campaign speech that demonstrated her incapacity to understand the role.

She accordingly lost to Nick Wright, who then may have overstepped his role by stating on CBC News that the Party intends to run a full slate? in the next election.

policy

Despite the constitution placing responsibility for the policy firmly with a committee, not the leader, Sheila presented numerous positions of her own as part of her campaign for Leader.